


King Jason and Prince Tim

by Li_La_Lou



Category: Batfamily - Fandom, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-04 05:20:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 17,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10269146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Li_La_Lou/pseuds/Li_La_Lou
Summary: Jason Todd was back.Jason Todd was back and everyone knew it.Jason has been abroad for a whole year and now comes back to his high school. He didn't expect his fame as the most popular kid around to be worn off, a nickname like  'King Jason' doesn't fade away that easily, right?Much to Jay's displeasure, there is in fact a new student around who seems to be reaching for his position. Obviously he can't let that happen. But things might turn out different than the high school's king expected.





	1. Chapter 1

Jason Todd was back.

Jason was back and everyone knew it.

 

“Man! Jay, hi!” Jason smiled at the sound of his High School friend's voice. Roy Harper had been his best friend for years, of course they went to High School together. But Jason hadn't expected him to still be here.

The only reason he had to get back here was to redo his Senior year, not because he failed classes but because he had been abroad for a year. Shitty, because he knew all the stuff they would tell him, but he had to take the classes and finals in America in order to actually graduate. Means, he was one year older than most of the other Seniors.

Roy for his part hadn't been abroad. But when his best friend was gone it became harder and harder to find motivation to actually attend classes. He'd skipped nearly every lesson, hanging with his friends, trying not to miss Jason too much. For Jason the separation had been hard as well but it was easier for him to get distracted in a country he'd never been to before.

Long story short, Roy had failed his exams but wasn't exactly sad about it since that meant he was now able to graduate together with his best friend.

 

The redhead nearly knocked Jason over as he ran into him for a passionate hug. “Dude, I missed ya! You've to tell me everything and show me all the photos! How was your host family and how the people at your school? Are the girls hot there?” Jason laughed and shook his head. “Roy, calm down. I told you about most of it in my letters and on Skype. There is barely anything left I could tell you. If you wanna know about my flight back, it was long and annoying, I just landed five hours ago, showered and then got here right away. Damn, I'm tired”, he laughed, grabbing his bag. “But _you_ need to tell me about the stuff that was going on here. Any changes in my kingdom?”

 

That's right. _His_ Kingdom. Jason had been the most popular kid in the whole school. As a Freshman, he made it to the football team, befriended the quarterback, got invited to Senior parties at the young age of fifteen, made out with a Senior girl – lucky, he had always been tall for his age and extremely good looking – and soon enough everybody had been talking about him.

Being his friend meant being popular, still Jason would easily see through those who were trying to use him for that. He'd been friends with half the school but the people he was actually close to had always been rare.

He wasn't gonna lie, it was a nice feeling to have everyone in school know his name, having anyone under his control. He had been smart, never lost his cool, his grades were amazing. He surely had been looking forward to get back here. He didn't expect his fame to be any worn off. His name all over the trophy-showcase, the yearbook  _and_ – which he liked the most – the huge graffiti piece saying 'King Jason' close to the football field, made by his friends as a goodbye-present when he left. People wouldn't forget about him, he was sure. 

 

“Well-” Roy started “the whole school is excited you're coming back, the ex-Juniors are freaking because they are in your year now. But, Um-” “But?”, Jason tilted his head. He didn't expected any 'buts', he wasn't the type of guy for a 'but'. “Oh! Oh, it's nothing. It's just... there is this new kid, a Sophomore now, Tim Drake, so I think-” “And what's with him?”, Jason rose an eyebrow. Roy shrugged but seemed uncomfortable. “Most people like him. He's in the baseball team and – man, I don't know – he's got quite a bunch of girls following him around, like, all the time. But don't worry about it, Jay, he's a nerd. He won't outrank you.” Jason snored. As if anyone could.

 

 

Lunch break didn't took too long to come around and Tim Drake left the classroom with his friends. _His friends_ , in this case, meant with about eight giggling Sophomore girls. Tim was one of the really few boys in his class that didn't treat girls like toys who you'd pay with pizza for a blowjob.

He'd been nice from the start, charming and kind, on top of that he was the smartest kid in all of his classes. Not talking about his pretty face, even though too round and soft to look manly, and his well-trained body. It had only been a matter of time the girls fell for him. A matter of one and a half month to be absolutely correct. One and a half month in his first year to make the whole school talk about him. 47 day until one of the other boys on his baseball-team invited him over for a gaming-night at his place. Nothing special at the first sight but if this guy happened to be the one dating the head of the cheerleader-team and Tim happened to be the only Freshman invited, it turned out quite good for him.

This weekend however he'd been invited to his very first _real_ High School party, a house party of a – listen up – Senior girl. A lot of people were invited actually. But so was he, so he didn't care.

 

Tim was in the middle of a conversation with his friends when they entered the cafeteria. He was about to ask if they wanted to go to the swimming pool later since it was an unusual hot week but he got interrupted by a high pitched squeak. A Junior girl ran up to them, all excited about something Tim probably hadn't heard of yet. “He's here, the rumors are true, he is really here!”, she squealed, wildly gesticulating. “Really? Oh my god, oh my god, I'm gonna meet him?!”, the girl right next to Tim gasped, her cheeks turning pink and she held on a little tighter to her backpack. “Pffh, yeah”, a third girl snored, “Because he won't have anything better to spend his time on that to hang out with Sophomore chicks...”

“Um, sorry but, eh.. what is this about?”, Tim asked, laughing nervously. Suddenly all the girls in the group turned around and stared at him and he felt like he'd asked an incredibly stupid question. “You haven't heard it yet?” He just shrugged. “Jason Todd is back in town!”

Tim flinched. That name, in fact, did have crossed his way.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim was rather unimpressed by the fact that Jason was back, mostly because he didn't see why it should affect his life at all. But after their first talk, the boy was certain there would be quite some changes.

The cafeteria was crowded. Tim didn't even know there were that many people going to this school. Neither was he sure if the people who had gathered around one table were all students, because he was quite sure he had spotted some teachers as well. But his mind was probably playing tricks on him.

While his friends couldn't wait to rush over to the place everyone else was standing, Tim surely didn't feel any need to run over there. Instead he took his time to get himself some lunch, bought a drink and pulled a book out of his backpack.

He sat down at the table right next to the one that would probably break down soon under the weight of about thirty girls sitting on it. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. This was silly. People had never made such a fuss about him, sure, but if they had he would probably just have found it annoying. Well, it would only be a matter of time for his friends to return after they understood they wouldn't have a chance to talk to Jason Todd anyway.

Tim opened his book, unpacked his Sandwiches and took a sip of his coffee. Whenever he needed some alone-time, which was a rather rare occasion but still, it happened from time to time, this was his way to spend lunchtime. His friends accepted that, left him alone when he needed them to and never mocked him about it. So usually, sitting alone and reading while eating shouldn't be too much of a problem. But today it seemed off.

He couldn't help but to check on the group of people next to him, lost the focus on his book over parts of the conversation he overheard.

After about twenty minutes, after he realized he wouldn't be allowed to have his lunch in peace, he decided he could just as well make a move.

 

Tim had to tap some people's shoulders and ask them nicely if they would let him pass but at least he did make his way closer to the table while most Sophomores still stood at the edge of the crowd. Tim, to his own surprise actually, was indeed able to sit down next to Jason. Or better, below him, since Tim preferred to sit on the bench rather than the table top.

 

“You have to be Jason, right?”, he grinned and looked up at the taller guy. This wasn't some stupid game about who was the mightier one in this school, so Tim really didn't care about sitting a little lower and having to look up. “What made you think that?”, Jay replied with a cocky grin, looking at all the people trying to talk to him, at least say Hi one time. “The streak”, Tim answered, gesticulating to his forehead where, if he were Jason, the white streak of hair would be.

Jason chuckled and reached out for a handshake, “You're cool, Kid. What's ya name?” “Tim. Tim Drake.”, the shorter boy replied while reaching for the other ones hand but just as he had voiced his name it was pulled away. Tim looked back up at Jason's face in confusion and saw him exchanging a stare with some ginger guy.

“So-”, Jason said, way less friendly now, as he turned back to Tim, “- you're that guy, huh?” Tim felt his body tense a little, though he couldn't really tell why. “I guess?”, he answered with a shrug. “So?”

Jason shook his head and grinned down at Tim, a cold and mean grin that sent shivers down Tim's spin. “No, kid, it's fine. I hope you had fun while it lasted. But, you know, this school can only handle one of us. I don't like my people to be divided in two groups, so... sorry to tell you, but I think your time is over.” Tim was so confused he could barely even reply. He sat there, is eyes wide and completely unbelieving, while he stared at Jason. “W-What...?”, was the only thing he managed to say.

Slowly, Jason leaned down to him until his mouth was next to Tim's ear. “There can't be a Prince Tim as long as there is a King Jason. Try again, next year.”; he whispered, his breath brushing Tim's skin. “Fuck off, Timbo.”

 

Usually, Tim wasn't the one to run. He wasn't the one to recklessly pick a fight neither but if he happened to get in an argument he usually was able to defend himself. Today, no.

As soon as Jason sat up straight again Tim stood up from the bench, a little too fast maybe, grabbed his bag and fled. He had enough self-control to not actually run away like a five year old but he wasn't walking particularly slow neither. The people he passed by were staring at him and Tim felt uncomfortably tensed up.

When he had escaped the crowd his heart was racing and his breath was faster than it probably should be.

What the _hell_ did just happen?!

 

Outside of the cafeteria he leaned against the wall and allowed himself to shut his eyes for a few seconds. He took a deep breath and felt his heartbeat slowing down again. Though, not for all too long because the hand that was suddenly placed on his shoulder scared the living hell out of him.

He flinched back, pressed his hand to his chest, “Goodness!”, he exhaled before looking up to the person who had obviously tried to kill him with a heart attack.

The blonde haired girl he was facing couldn't help but laugh quietly but soon enough her giggling turned into a sheepish smile.

“I'm sorry, Timmy”, Steph said and picked up the backpack Tim had dropped. “I just wanted to ask if you're alright? I mean, I didn't really hear what Jason said to you but according to what I know about him and the way you ran out of the hall like you'd have seen a ghost I would say he probably didn't offer to treat you for Pizza.”

 

In short sentences Tim recapped what happened and with every word that fell from his lips the rage in his guts grew bigger. He was mad at himself for letting a jerk like Todd push him around. He once had sworn to himself that he would never let anyone do that again. _Especially_ not that so called 'King'.

It was about time for his reign to go down with him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had really fun writing this chapter.  
> The interaction between Jason and Tim is one of my favorite things to do and I'm glad it will soon become more, step by step.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason enjoyed his time back at home more than anything. But when he finally had a calm minute to think, he figured he probably hadn't treat a certain kid right. He should try to fix that, maybe.

This first week Jason let himself go easy on his classes, only did what was absolutely necessary. He wouldn't develop the bad habit of skipping lessons again and he couldn't miss out on doing homework. He would not let his teachers think he grew lazy while he was gone.

But apart from that he didn't waste his time on studying alone at home. There was too much stuff to be done. Too many people who hadn't seen him in ages and too many bad ideas he had to go after. While he had been gone it wasn't as much of a problem to think of something else but now that he was back home he noticed how much he had actually missed his friends.

 

In this first week he had spent every night with Roy, sometimes at his place, sometimes in his friend's apartment, on Tuesday they didn't bother to sleep at all. They laid in the back of Roy's Pick-up and stared at the stars, talking. Even though there had barely been two days in a row they didn't skype or talked on the phone, it seemed like there still was a lot they hadn't mentioned.

The days, at least the time he wasn't stuck in class, was mostly spent in coffee shops and bars, malls and the houses of friends. Everyone seemed to want their turn on Jason.

Jay didn't mind at all. Abroad he had been popular as well, sure, but mostly because he was _'That American Kid_ _™'_. He did have some friends but not even remotely close to what he had here.

He enjoyed every second of it.

 

On Friday he was nothing but tired. By the time his last lesson ended he could barely keep his eyes open. Not sleeping for more that three hours per day for a whole week didn't do anything good to a body, even if it was as healthy as Jason's.

 

Roy offered him a ride home which he happily accepted. On the Way back to Wayne Manor where Jay lived, Roy cleared his throat. “So, plans for tonight?”, he smiled at Jason before turning back to face the road. “Sleeping”, Jason muttered, his arm hanging out of the open window. “But it's Friday night! There are better times to sleep!”, Roy argued with a grin but his fingers nervously tapped the steering wheel. Jay shrugged but couldn't fight the grin that was crawling onto his face. “Why? Something going on?” Roy shook his head. “Nah, just like... some people hanging out. Playing video games. Pizza. This stuff, you know?”, he explained. His stare on the road was a little too intense for Jason to believe him. “Well, if it's just that, I think I'd rather pass. Sounds fun, but I'd prefer some sleep.” “You can nap when you're home and then we go to the party!”, Roy suggested, a little too desperate. “I-I mean, it's not a real party, rather a get-together and ... I, erm...”; he sighed and leaned his head back. “I screwed up, right?”

“Pretty much.”; Jason laughed. “So, a party? For me? Cute” Roy sighed again. “Yeah... At Kory's Place, you know, to celebrate your return. Basically the whole school will be there! You _have_ to come, Jaybird!”, Roy begged. “Fine. Fine.”, Jason agreed while pinching the bridge of his nose. “I'll take a nap and a shower when I get home. Okay?” “Thanks!”, Roy smiled, obviously relieved. “Oh, and if you could, like, not tell Kory I told you? Because it was ought to be kind of a surprise”, he rubbed his neck and laughed uncomfortably. “You can count on me. But in return it would be cool if you could be my ride home. No alcohol for you, twice the amount of booze for me”, he grinned jokingly.

Roy rolled his eyes but grinned himself as he agreed. He remarked that he wasn't planning on drinking tonight anyway.

 

“I'll pick you up around eight, okay?”, he said as he dropped Jason off by the Manor. “Yeah, okay. See you then”, Jay replied and waved after Roy as he drove away.

Jason stretched his arms and back as he walked up the driveway to the giant house he had spent most of his childhood in.

Alfred opened the door before Jason had even reached it. “Welcome home, Master Jason”, he said as he held open the door. “Hi, Al”, Jason replied casually and took off the jacket. “I'm gonna be out tonight, can you tell Bruce?”

“He will be fond to hear this, thinking about the alarming amount of time you've spent at home this week. He was worried an illness might be the cause you barely leave the house”, Alfred commented sarcastically. “Ha. Ha.”, Jay replied and rolled his eyes. “I know, I've been out a lot this week. I'll spend more time around next week, alright?” “This is no one's decision but yours, Master Jason, but I would like to point out that Master Bruce has not seen you for a year neither. I am quite certain he would enjoy spending some time with you just as much as your friends.”

Jason sighed and shrugged. “I'll be around next week”, he said once more but this time it was more of a promise.

 

Having lunch didn't took Jason too long, his nap shamefully didn't last longer than two hours and he wasn't the kind of person to take long showers. Therefore, when the clock stroke six he was wide awake and ready to go. Too bad, there were still two hours left to waste.

Bruce wasn't a great fan of video games, Jason had never been one of those kids who can sit in silence, reading, for hours. There was barely anything he found to do in this house. When he was younger, it was a little more fun, running down the hallways, building fords and finding secret places, playing hide and seek with Bruce without his adoptive father even knowing they were playing. 

These days it was harder for Jason, a guy who simply wasn't used to being alone anymore, to entertain himself.

 

He ended up on the Sofa, a bowl of popcorn on his lap and some stupid show on the TV, while he scrolled down Tim Drake's Facebook page. He wouldn't add him as a friend. Obviously not. He just liked to be informed. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, so they say. Even though Jason wouldn't consider Tim his enemy, rather a probably quite nice kid who took a wrong turn and played it a little too far.

Maybe, Jason thought,just maybe he had gone a little too far a few days ago during lunch break. He hadn't seen the kid around anymore but that was probably just caused by lessons in different parts of the school. Still, he didn't mean to give him a goddamn panic attack. He had a point he tried to make clear, that was all. Still, he decided next time Tim crossed his way he would be a little nicer. He wouldn't act out the best buddy for that kid but at least he wanted to be a gentle king who was good to all his subjects.

With this thought still lingering in the back of his mind, he got into Roy's car when it was time to show up at his party.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this feels a lot like a filler chapter but I wanted to make Jason a little more likeable with this.  
> I hope it's still fun to read.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim has twisted feelings about his first High School party but he's excited to find out whether the books and movies were telling the truth.  
> Apparently they were because in those movies, people always start drama on parties like this.

Tim was super nervous. He couldn't help but to be. The first real High

School party was quite a big deal. Well, at least that's what movies and books had taught him.

 

On Friday morning he had been up earlier than usual. He woke up before his alarm even had the chance to go off. After having breakfast and taking care of his morning routine in the bathroom he started choosing his clothes for tonight. Or rather, he started pulling every single piece of clothing he owned out of his closet, spread them over the floor and stared on them for nearly half an hour. As it finally hit him that he wouldn't be able to ever choose out of all this on his own, he texted Steph.

 

She agreed to come over after school to help him with it. Tim had asked her more often than he originally intended to if she wanted to come to the party with him. She was of all people the one he trusted the most and it would be relieving to have her around. But her answer was always the same.

“I would rather stab myself in the eye than go to a party like that. I can't bear drunk people, I don't wanna dress up in my favorite clothes just for someone to puke on them _and_ , most importantly, I have plans for tonight! Tim, you know I love you and I want you to be fine but you don't need me around in order to do so. You'll have fun, I'm sure.” Tim sighed and nodded, once again a little let down by that reply. He wasn't blaming her, it would just be nice to have her by his side. But she was right, he would probably have fun anyway. At least he hoped so.

Together with his friend, picking an outfit was way easier. Steph turned on some bubbly pop-music and danced around the room while she threw the things at Tim she wanted him to try on.

 

It didn't took them more than an hour to find the perfect thing to wear and Steph sighed proudly. “Now, look at that. My Timmy is growing up!”, she smiled and pretended to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye before pinching Tim's cheek. He backed off with a laugh. “Moooom”, he complained jokingly and both of them giggled.

 

The rest of the day, until Steph had to go home before her friends showed up for a movie marathon and Tim had to leave for his party, they sat on his bed and played  _Mario Kart_ while talking about people at school.

“Well, you gotta tell me tomorrow who kissed who and if someone blacked out or if you played drinking games. And promise me to not let people talk you into drinking, you're only sixteen Tim! Oh, and text me when you're home, no matter how late it is, so I know you're save.”

Tim just nodded, a little lost in his thought. “Do you think... Do you think, he's gonna be there too?”, he asked after a while of not saying a word. “He?”, Steph tilted her head, “Oh, you mean Jason? Well, probably.”, she shrugged and Tim tensed up a little. He wasn't prepared to meet him again. He'd avoided the cafeteria and had Steph look into the hallways before he entered. It was pathetic and he knew it but Jason seemed like the type of guy who might beat him up next time he crossed his way. Tim didn't want to risk it.

“Even if he'll be there too-”, Steph tried to comfort him , “you don't even know if you'll run into him. If there really are so many people you might just pass by without noticing each other. Also, he's probably there with his friends and some girls, he has probably better things to do than causing trouble. Drinking and making out, maybe.” Tim sighed and relaxed his shoulders. “You might be right”.

 

Kory, the girl who was throwing the party, told him it would start around seven but Steph said no one would ever go to a party around seven so Tim decided he would drop by at eight.

When he arrived the front yard was already filled with drunken people. Some of them just stood around and talked, some came here to smoke a cigarette and escape the loud music and one couple was lying in the grass and made out. Tim grinned to himself, feeling like the protagonist in a teen-movie.

The door stood open but he was unsure if he should just enter, so he rang the doorbell before stepping inside.

Kory was the first to notice him. She just came out of the kitchen, two drinks in her hands. “Tim!”, she smiled widely and tried to hug him without pouring the beer over his shirt. “Nice to see you! Make yourself a home! Drinks and snacks are over there. Bathroom and Bedrooms are upstairs. Have fun!”, and with that she was gone.

Tim stood there, in the hallway, feeling completely lost, so he decided to get himself something to drink, something without alcohol, coke probably, in order to at least know what to do with his hands.

 

Holding the red plastic cup with both his hands, Tim wandered around the house, greeting some people who noticed him but mostly just observing at first. A girl who seemed to have a few shots too much ran passed him but stopped to kiss his cheek and tell him he was cute. One of the guys on his baseball-team pulled him into a group of dancing people and introduced him to the girl he was obviously hitting on and her friend in a slightly less short dress.

Some people offered him drinks but, much to Steph's content so he thought, he politely declined every time.

 

He slowly started feeling more comfortable at the party, even dared to dance with the girl in the slightly less short dress. But suddenly the mood changed, as somehow everyone on the party screamed out cheerfully. Tim wasn't close enough to the door to see what was going on but he had a bad feeling about it.

As Kory climbed onto a nearby table and pulled Jason up with her Tim ducked away a little, planning his escape but the universe seemed to be playing against him because he exact moment he made his first step towards the door Jason spotted him.

Their eyes meet and Tim was almost certain he was gonna die just by that. He was certain Jason could see the shock in his eyes. Why else would he grin at him?

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little heat-up between Jason and Tim.  
> While the school's king is attempting to make peace with his newly gained rival, Tim seems to have other plans.

Jason barely heard a thing Kory and Roy were yelling to the crowd. Certainly, all of them were nice things about how much he had been missed and how happy everyone was he got back and how there hadn't been a real party without him, whatever. He had heard all of this multiple times this week. Something else drew his attention onto it. Onto _him_ , actually.

Tim's weak attempt to hide wasn't too effective and Jason met his eye as he looked across the room. He smiled at the shorter boy, partly because he earlier had decided to be nicer, partly because Tim looked just too cute. The horror in his eyes, when he realized Jason had noticed him, was priceless! But even though it was funny to watch, he surely didn't want Tim to feel scared or unsafe around him. He wasn't some kind of bully, for god's sake!

Therefore, today's mission was : Make up with Tim Drake.

 

After Kory had ended her 'Yay, Jason is back'-speech and looked at Jay like she wanted him to say something as well, he quickly ripped his eyes off Tim to look at her. “Er... Well, what's left to say? Let's get this party started!”, he called out, reaching his fist into the air as all people around screamed cheerfully and the music turned up.

Immediately, Jason hopped off the table and looked around. Tim was nowhere to be seen – shit, he shouldn't have lost sight of him – so he ran around the house, looking for the probably hiding boy.

 

After three songs of searching, Jason ran his hand through his hair in frustration. Also, because he was sweating. It was freaking hot inside of the restlessly packed house. He stepped out into the front yard and, much to his surprise, the first thing he saw was exactly who he had been looking for.

Tim sat on the small brick wall that delimited the property and stared into the plastic cup in his hand. God, he looked miserable. Why did he make a face like that?!

Jason walked over to him and casually leaned against the wall. “Yo”, he said, not looking at Tim, while he drew a cigarette and a lighter out of his pocket. “I guess you don't smoke, do you?”

Tim shook his head. His shoulders seemed stiff and his glare into the coke was a little more intense than before but at least he wasn't completely mute this time. “What do you want?”, he managed to say without his voice shaking.

Jason chuckled as he lit his cigarette and took a deep drew on it. “What do you mean, I just wanna talk.”, he replied with the smoke streaming out of his mouth. “Yeah, sure”, Tim snorted and took a sip of his coke, mostly to cover his nose from the bad-smelling smoke. “You know that will kill you eventually, right?”, he muttered into the cup.

Jason chuckled and looked at the sky. “I am living a reckless life, Timbo.”, he said, making it sound more philosophic than it deserved to be. “I might be hit by a car on Monday, break my neck on the football-field next month or, who knows, I might die from alcohol poisoning tonight. I don't think that far into the future.” “So that's what you do? Doing stupid stuff because you'll probably die of something else?”, Tim asked, equally confused and disapproving. Jason shrugged and blew another cloud of smoke into the night air. “That's what I do.”

 

For a moment, they just sat there in silence and to Jason it wasn't uncomfortable. To Tim it was.

He was waiting for Jason to make a move, say something mean, tell him to leave the school, punch him in the stomach, whatever. But nothing of this ever came. Instead, Tim winced at every single one of Jason's movements. As he lifted the cigarette to him mouth, Tim hold so tight onto his cup that he plastic sprung open and the coke poured over Tim's hands. “Damn!”, he hissed and tried to shake off the sticky liquid.

“Well, that's what happens when you're always so stressed out. Chill down.”, Jason grinned and earned himself an angry glare from Tim. “Stressed out? What makes you think I'm stressed?”, he snapped and jumped off the wall. “Well, I checked you out on Facebook and it looks like there is barely a school club you're not part of. You seemed a little out of your mind on Monday too. Also, you just cruelly murdered your coke.”, Jason said casually and grinned.

“I think that's none of your business. And I _wasn't_ stressed on Monday. To be honest, I was a little unprepared, yes, because I didn't expect you to be such a dickhead.” Jason rose and eyebrow and grinned. He liked that new courage of Tim's. “Oh?”

“Yeah”, Tim continued. “But don't worry, I had to handle people like you before and, guess what, I will also be able to handle you and your massive ego. You said there can't be Prince Tim while there is a King Jason , and I don't really know what's up with you and that silly monarchy-metaphor, but you should be aware that there have been countless time in history when the prince has overthrown the King.”

With that Tim turned away and left a slightly confused Jay behind.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry, this chapter is super short but at least it's intense, right? Right?  
> Things start to get serious here..!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war has begun.

“ Did I make a mistake?”,Tim sighed as he walked up and down in his room.

He had left the party pretty much right after the incident with Jason and called Steph when he got into the taxi. The entire ride home he explained what has happened and apologized for making such a fuss in the middle of the night.

Steph, on the other side, was nothing close to tired and more interested in whatever Tim had to tell her.

Now, he was home and done with telling his story. His friend kept quiet for a little while, thinking. “Well, it maybe wasn't the smartest idea you ever had to basically declare war on Jason. But I've got your back, I promise!”

 

Tim groaned out and ran his fingers through his hair. “He's going to kill me.”, he said matter-of-factly. “Oh, Timmy, listen! You can do this! Or  _ we _ can, okay? I mean, when you decided to pick this fight, I am sure you had like a plan in the back of your head, right? Right?”

Tim sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. “Kind of... But, Steph, that's nothing I could possibly do. I mean, for a second I thought I could come up with like a million amazing ideas to make myself seem cooler and steal his position as the most liked kid in school. I just- I don't even care about the whole fame thing, like really, it must be super annoying not being able to walk four feet through the hallway without someone wanting to talk to you, but-” “Hate to break it to you, Timmy,” Steph interrupted him, “, you probably didn't notice, ‘cause it grew normal to you but let me tell you, as the person who always walks next to you, you're greeting basically  _ everyone _ on the hallway. And there are always people sitting around you during lunch as well, if you let them. I think half the school is befriended with you!”

“ But just because I like a lot of people and many people like me doesn't mean I wanna walk around like an arrogant asshole and call myself a  _ king _ !”, Tim said, remembering why he started trouble with Jason in the first place. He placed one hand on his hip as he looked out of the window.

“ There is no way in hell I can let him go on like this. He might be what the school wanted a year ago but with the people I know, being a rude dickhead doesn't get you anywhere. I'm gonna make a plan.” he decided.

 

The weekend didn't last as long as most students wanted it to. Tim for his matter couldn't wait for Monday to come.

After his talk with Steph he stayed up a little longer and thought of a way to kick Jason off his throne. He had to trick people into thinking he was cooler than he actually was in order to pull them on his side. And he did have some ideas.

 

When Monday finally came around, Tim was prepared.

The school bell was about to ring and the parking lot was crowded with people who didn't want to go inside yet. Usually Tim arrived earlier but today I wanted as many people as possible to see him. Today was step one of his plan : Drawing attention onto him.

And in fact, as the large limousine drove onto the school's parking lot, the heads did turn to him. People stared in awe as Tim's chauffeur, well actually his father's chauffeur but who cares, got out to open the door for him. Tim had put on his fanciest clothes and black designer sunglasses to make the effect of his his arrival complete. People stared at him open mouthed.

“ Master Timothy”, the chauffeur said politely and Tim nodded at him with a smile. “Thanks. Please pick me up around three pm, will you?” “Of course, Sir.”, the man in the black suit confirmed and bowed slightly before handing Tim his backpack out of the back of the car before he excused himself and got back in, in order to drive the car out of the parking lot.

 

For a moment there was silence and suddenly Tim wasn't so sure about his plan anymore. He didn't want to seem like the spoiled rich kid after all.

But after another blink of an eye Tim found himself surrounded by a bunch of people. “Wow, Drake, I didn't know you had a personal chauffeur! So cool!”, a guy he had never talked too before grinned and placed a hand on his shoulder. Tim figured it was someone from the football team, he had seen him on the field last summer, but he had no idea how that boy knew his name. He didn't care much neither.

The crowd of people didn't grew any smaller on his way to his classroom, many people asked if they could get a ride home and, absolutely subtly, one girl even asked if he had his driver bring him to dates as well.

 

On the way to his class they happened to pass the red-haired guy who Jason seemed to be friends with. What was his name again? Roy, so Tim thought.

However, Tim wouldn't let this opportunity go just like this. Instead he smiled at the boy in a sarcastically friendly manner.

Roy stared at him for a second but as soon as the people had passed by he reached for his phone.

 

“ Dude, I know I'm late, I'm on my way!”, Jason groaned into his phone right after he had picked up. He was still a little hungover from the parties this weekend. His plan of catching on sleep didn't quite work out. “It's not about that, Jaybird”, Roy said quickly. “It's about that kid. Drake.”

Jason's features turned to stone as Roy briefly explained what he had seen and what he was now overhearing from conversations on the hallway.

“ I'll be there soon.”, Jason replied coldly before ending the call.

He was walking faster now, made larger steps, but no longer because he was scared to be late. He kicked a stone out of his way and watched it breaking in two as it hit a house wall.

Oh boy, he was pissed.

Up until now he hadn't wasted to many thoughts on what happened Friday night but Tim seemed to be serious about this. Well, jokes on him, Jason was used to defending his title and some little prick wouldn't steal it from him.

 

_ I hope that's what you wanted, Timbo _ , Jason thought to himself, _ 'cause you just started a war. _


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason isn't willing to let Tim get away with his little limousine-move just like that. But he doesn't have any problem to come up with a revange that will make everyine forget about Tim Drake in no time.

Tim was more than surprised about how well his plan had seem to work. People seemed to be talking about him on the hallway, girls waved at him when he passed by. “Man, what did you do?”, Steph, who was as always right by his side, asked with a huge grin on her face. “I just called my dad’s chauffeur and asked him to take me to school today. I mean, I love my bike and I'll ride my bike here tomorrow again but... Jason always brags about how everyone in school knows his name and I thought this would be a fast way to spread mine.”

Steph smiled and nodded in agreement. “Obviously. Well, what's the next thing you're planning to do? As I know you, you've already made a plan from step one to fifty-three”, she chuckled.

Tim laughed his her and shook his head. “Well, actually I do have some ideas. But I'd rather tell you in a little more private place. Also, I haven't the whole thing figured out yet. I still need to work on the details.

 

Steph volunteered to help him as much as she possibly could. She even agreed to join the next party in order to protect him from picking a fight with someone more violent than Jason.

 

For the rest of the day Tim felt like he was flying. He suddenly understood why Jason liked the thought of people knowing his name. He felt like everyone was extraordinarily nice to him and like even those of who he would have never guessed to know who he was talked to him. It was breathtaking.

Shamefully he wasn't allowed to feel this weightless for all too long.

 

Lunch break had just started, Tim and Steph entered the cafeteria just to find it as good as empty. Tim tilted his head, wondering where everybody had disappeared to, but Steph just shrugged as she heard the sound of light-hearted laughter from outside if the window. “Summer is coming, I guess”, she figured and put her hands in her pockets. Tim hummed in agreement. When it became warmer, most students preferred to spend their breaks outside in the sun.

Since neither Steph nor Tim saw a real point in staying inside while everyone else was in the yard and, according to the still lasting laughter, had quite a good time.

They decided to just get some cold drinks from the vending machine before they pushed the door open and looked outside.

 

Tim's features froze immediately at the sight of what was in front of him. A cold shiver ran down his spine even though the sun was falling on his face.

Roy Harper's Pick up stood in the middle of the yard, the back was covered by some sort of tarpaulin and filled with water. Some girls in soaked jeans-shorts and T-shirts sat inside, splashed each other and giggled while on the outside of the car there was a huge water balloon fight. The boys of the football team were chasing each other across the bituminized yard, throwing their ammunition at the other boys heads.

Jason sat on the roof of the rusty Pick Up, armed with a giant squirt gun and a boom box sitting next to him. Some loud music was playing, Roy, Kory and himself were yelling alone.

 

As Jason spotted Tim standing in the door and staring at him with a wide open mouth he couldn't help but grin. He rose his hand and winked at him. “Yo, Timbo!”, he yelled, a little to sweet to sound somewhat close to serious. He jumped off the car roof and casually walked over to Tim.

 

The boy was stiff and stared at Jason, pure hatred in his eyes. “Are you serious?”, he hissed and his nose twitched in anger.

Steph protectively put her hand on his shoulder to pull him away but he shook it off. Jason just snorted, still a arrogant grin on his lips. “You started this, sweetheart, now you'll have to suffer through it. I mean, you could just as well back off and accept that you cannot win this but I don't think that you ignorant, little prick will just go with that kind offer.” “Hey, knock it off! There is no reason to be this rude!”, Steph angrily cut in but Jason didn't bother to react at all. Neither did Tim and this seemed to offend his best friend a lot more.

“ Steph, I can handle this.”, Tim said bitterly, still staring at Jason instead of looking at her. “Wow, okay. Well then.”, Steph replied, let go of Tim and walked away while shaking her head.

 

Somewhere deep down inside Tim knew this had been a dick move but he was too focused on what was going on between him and Jason to go after her.

“ And to come back to your  _ kind offer _ , I'm incredibly sorry but I am afraid I indeed have to decline.”, he smiled and tilted his head, his hair falling to his face.

It took Jason a beat to react. This looked cuter than he wanted to admit. He quickly closed his eyes, got his thoughts back in line and opened them again. His overconfident grin was right back on his face and he aimed the water pistol at Tim's chest. “Then I hope you are tougher than you look. There is a storm coming.”, he lilted and slowly rose the gun to the shorter boy's face.

“ Don't be so freaking full of yourself, alright? This is a game for two and you shouldn't make the mistake to underestimate me.”, Tim replied calmly.

 

Jason stared at him for what felt like eternities but in the end he lowered the squirt gun. Tim was certain Jay had planed to shot a load of water into his face and he wasn't sure if he got why he didn't. Not that he was exactly unhappy about it, it just left him a little confused as Jason shrugged and walked away. “We'll see, Timbo. But no matter how this ends, make sure you're not wasting my time.”, he said over his shoulder.

And with that he was gone, back by the Pick Up, leaning over the edge and talking to the giggling girls, and Tim was left alone with his anger and confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much just Jason being as extra as ever.   
> It was super fun to write this since Jason and Tim fighting always comes easy to me. There will be more fighting in the next chapters but slowly - very very slowly- they will grow to like each other. be prepared ;)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim makes up with Steph and gets to prove how much of a protective little bean he can be. However, he might take it a little too far and does something thoughtless. Thoughtless but fun.

A few days passed by without anything going on. Tim's fame was gone as fast as it came. Nobody was talking about him anymore but Jason's 'Pick Up-pool party' was still the common talk on his school.

A little while ago Tim hadn't cared if anyone was talking about him. He had actually always disliked this thought. But he was sure, the next time he unintentionally overheard someone saying  _ how cool Jason Todd _ was, he was gonna puke.

 

The fact that he hadn't particularly apologized to Steph kinda didn't help his situation. He felt horrible and as alone as ever. His plan, the coming steps he had intended to take, seem childish and stupid in comparison to Jason's goddamn  **_splish splash water bash_ ** .

He needed his best friend with him to get through this without taking too much damage. He needed Steph.

With shaky fingers he dialed her number and held the phone to his ear with both his hands. He'd never been that nervous when he called her. Well, he had never treated her like that neither.

He felt like thick chains were locked around his chest, pressing the air out of his lungs, as he heard Steph's voice on the other side of the line. She didn't seem to fond about his call but at least she had picked up. “What is it, Tim?”

 

The words sputtered out of Tim's mouth, not giving Steph any opportunity to cut him off. “Stephanie, I am so  _ so _ sorry. I know, I am an asshole, I know. I treated you like crap and I am a complete jerk for doing so. But I miss you. A lot. And I can't take this without you. I'll stop this stupid dispute with Jason at an instant, if that's what you want. But please don't be mad at me. I am terribly sorry, Steph!”

His breath was a little heavier than it should be when he finally fell silent and gave his friend some time to react. His heart was violently beating against his ribs as Steph sighed deeply. “It's fine, Timmy”, she then said and a shiver of relief washed over Tim. “It's not”, he protested anyways. “I promise, I will never ever be like this again.”

“ No, really”, Steph probably shook her head but Tim could only guess. “We're cool. I overreacted as well. He know this means a lot to you and you're right, Jason is a dickhead. He can't let him have this.”

 

Even though Tim had offered to ditch the whole business with Jason just a minute ago, he was more than glad to hear Steph say this. He wouldn't want to leave this fight unfought. And it was good to know Steph back on his side.

Still, he promised for one more time that he would take the whole thing a little less serious for the sake of their friendship and Steph happily agreed on that.

 

Now back to normal, the two of them talked for half the night, telling each other about everything that happened during the two days they were out of touch. Tim knew 48 hours weren't long but to him, it felt like eternities had passed since the last time the they had talked.

 

He fell asleep on his phone and somewhere in the distance he heard Steph chuckle and wish him a good night before she hung up. He slept better, not feeling all too lonely anymore and the concern about Jason was gone as well for a little while.

 

The next morning, his eyes sprung open at the sound of the way too loud alarm he had set on his phone, which was still lying right beneath his ear. He sat up straight and nearly knocked his phone out of his bed.

He caught it right in time before it could hit the floor and pressed it to his chest. Why was he this worked up?

He couldn't tell for sure but he felt like a blurry dream vision of Jason's grin was still lingering in the back of his mind.

Quickly he shook his head and got out of bed. A cool shower was exactly was he needed right now and it proved to be as effective as always to get his thoughts back in order.

Tim promised himself that today was gonna be a good day as he hopped onto his bike and made his way to his school.

Steph was already waiting for him in front of the building and waved as she saw him come down the street.

With the two of them side by side again the day passed by just like that, without any unpleasant incidents.

 

They just entered the cafeteria, laughing about the probably worst way of using a computer – of course the way their history teacher chose to go with – and talked about the surprise test their french teacher had threatened the class with once again. She always did so when too many people were babbling and giggling but she never actually had them write one.

Tim and Steph had just got their lunch and looked around for a table as someone roughly bumped into Tim.

The boy winced and turned around to apologize, even though it hadn't been his fault, but he froze in his movement as he realized who had just nearly knocked him off his feet.

“ Todd”, he said in a low voice and his eyes narrowed. Jason, for his part, seemed rather amused than concerned and there was a somewhat dangerous spark in his eyes. “Oh hey, how do we have here. Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Cute.”, he smirked and put his hands in his pockets. “I don't know if you're brave or stupid for still showing up here, Timbo?”

“ What did you expect me to do? Leave the school just because some random punk decided he didn't like me?”, Tim laughed sarcastically and watched Jason shrug disinterestedly. “If you were smart you'd probably have done that, yeah.”, he smiled calmly.

“ Don't be so full of yourself, Todd”, Steph barged in and Tim felt endlessly blessed with a friend like that. Jason on the other side didn't seem to like her taking part in the conversation. “Who asked you, Brown?”, he hissed and took a step towards her. But instead of backing away like Jason had expected her to, she just stood there and stared him in the eyes with a challenging expression. “I don't need your permission to talk, you know? A stupid nickname doesn't make you a real king.” “And, surprise, hanging with Drake does not make you the school's princess. The fact that you have only like two friends doesn't get any less sad just because one of them is somewhat close to popular. No one cares about you or your shitty opinion, Brown, so take care of your own business and leave the important matters to people who actually have a brain.”

 

Steph did seem too aggrieved by Jason's rude speech but Tim couldn't stay this calm. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins and he was sure, if he hadn't been holding his tray he would have punched Jason right in the face. “You better apologize. Now.”, he growled but got nothing but a cold laugh in return. “Or what, Timbo?”, Jason snickered, slightly leaning over Tim to make him feel even smaller than he actually was.

Tim couldn't reply. He was too angry to form accurate sentences but for the love of god, he knew exactly what he wanted to do to Jason.

“ That's what I thought”, Jay grinned and stood up straight again before turning around and walking away, mumbling something that sounded a lot like  _ Pussy _ .

 

Tim was moving faster than he could think. If it would have been the other way around and he would have been able to reflect his next action, things might have turned out quite differently. However, he would never find out because before he was able to waste a second thought he had already thrown the muffin against the back of Jason's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We wall know, what's gonna be next to come ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A food-fight and some growing feelings...

Jason winced and reflexively put his hand on the place where he had got hit by what was supposed to be Tim's dessert.

Slowly, threateningly slow, he turned around to face Tim again. He stared at the boy, then at the empty spot the muffin had left on the tray.

“ Did you just...?” Jason voice was equally unbelieving and angry. Could a single human being really contain this much stupidity on his own. And Tim didn't even seem to regret what he had just done. He stood there, provocatively looking at him and reached for the muffin of Steph tray as well.

“ I fucking dare you, Timbo. I swear, you're gonna fucking regret that! I double dare-”, but before he could finish his sentence the second muffin already hit his forehead.

 

Tim grinned widely and Steph burst out laughing. “Well, you're choice”, Jason said, forcing a grin to his face. He didn't want to let the kid know how much his disrespectful behavior actually pissed him off.

He reached out for the nearest table and grabbed the first thing his fingers found. He happily found it to be a handful of spaghetti. Tim's eyes widened in horror as Jason struck out before sending it right to his face.

Now it was Jason's turn to grin widely while he watched Tim wiping tomato sauce off his face.

 

Within a few moments the other students in the cafeteria picked their side and joined Jason and Tim. They were firing noodles and meatballs and sandwiches at each other and poured their soft drinks over each others heads. Roy was by Jason's side, taking care of Steph and rubbing some mashed potatoes in her face, while Jason and Tim were fighting at the center of the whole scene.

 

If Tim was being completely honest, he had the time of his life. Jason had a can of Coke in each hand and quickly shook them while Tim grabbed a ketchup and a mustard bottle to defend himself.

They intensely stared at each other for a few beats before Jason opened the cans and they splashed the filling of the containers at each other. Tim laughed joyfully and Jason felt his heartbeat speed up at the sound of this.

 

When finally some teachers kicked in and, under a lot of yelling and shouting, somehow got the students to stop the whole room was covered in all kinds of liquids and food mash.

Some people looked at Jason, when one of the teachers asked who had started this madness. Some others were looking at Tim. But no one seemed to be willing to tell. They were all in this together after all.

 

However, of course they didn't got out of this without any trouble but since the principal didn't want to waste her time on calling every single student's parents, all they had to do was cleaning the cafeteria. There had been so many students involved that it barely took half an hour to have the walls and floor and tables clean again.

In front of the school the PE teacher was waiting with a garden hose to wash the food of the students. Luckily it was even warmer today than it had been the last few days and the cool water pouring down on them would dry within a few minutes.

 

It was already getting late when everyone was finally allowed to leave. Everyone was still hyped about what happened – how often did one get to experience a Hollywood-like food fight? – but a general exhaustion seemed to make everybody's limbs heavy.

When the students got to their cars or bikes an idea hit Tim's mind.

“ Hey!”, he yelled, climbing on top of the small wall that limited the parking lot. “I am sorry I kinda ruined all of yours lunch. I feel like I should make up for that, so how about I treat you all for pizza?”

Suddenly the crowd didn't seem to be too tired anymore and most people agreed to meet up at the pizzeria close to the school in about half an hour.

 

Tim didn't feel like riding his bike there, so he put it in the back of Steph's car and got in the passenger seat.

She wouldn't stop grinning while they were going down the street. She tapped the steering wheel in the rhythm of the song on the radio.

“ Really, Tim, I gotta say, I'm impressed. Not only was this one of the most fun things I've ever done, you have also successfully regained the interest of the whole school. I'm quite sure people won't stop talking about you after today!”

Tim chuckled and ran his fingers through is still slightly wet hair.

“ Yeah, I don't know. I wasn't thinking about that, actually. I just did what felt right, I mean, I can't let Jason shittalk about my best friend! But, yes, it was super fun, right?”, he laughed and bit his lip.

“ And there is nothing better than a pizza-party!”, Steph added cheerfully before humming in the tune of the song : “My Timmy will soon be the school's number one...!”

 

When the two of them arrived at the restaurant some people already waited in front of it. They gleefully greeted Tim and Steph, patted Tim's shoulder and told how cool today had been.

After everyone who wanted to join the group had arrived and they entered the pizzeria Tim looked around but he couldn't seem too spot neither Jason nor Roy nor Kory or anyone else of Jay's friends.

A part of him was glad he didn't have to deal with any of them now, another part was a little disappointed not to have Jason around.

He would love him to see how everyone was cheering for Tim as he ordered pizza and drinks for the whole group.

No matter how much fun this was, it would have been better if Jason was here. Just to prove him wrong about Tim.

Somehow Tim was unable to get Jason out of his head. And to be honest, that concerned him more than anything the school's  _ King  _ could possibly do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, it's nice for me to finally have Jason and Tim getting closer. Don't worry, there will still be a lot of fighting though, but it's about time they start to see more than a rival in each other, don't you think?


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason is beyond pissed and ready to start shit. But he already has a plan on how to overtrump Tim's little pizza-party.

Jason slammed the door shut and the bang made Roy flinch away a little. “That little punkass!” he hissed and ruffed his hair. “Can you believe he threw a muffin at me?  _ A fucking muffin, Roy _ !”

“ Um..”, Roy started carefully, making sure to leave enough space between him and Jason. He knew his friend would never hurt him on purpose but Jay  _ did _ have a habit of throwing things against walls when he was angry. “You seemed to have fun, Jaybird. Just sayin'! You didn't seem mad this afternoon...”

“ I am mad now!”, Jason replied, walking up and down in his room. He was all tensed up and so ready to start shit. If Roy wouldn't be around he would probably punch a hole into the goddamn wall.

 

Roy sat on Jason's bed, his legs crossed and his face resting in his hands. “Calm down, Jay, So what of the nerd treats some guys for pizza.” He shrugged and reached for the phone to check  _ chirper _ . In fact his timeline was packed with pictures of pizza with Tim in the mention and tons of selfies with him. Slowly Roy pushed his phone back into his pocket, surely not wanting Jason to know about what was going on online.

“ Yeah, it starts with pizza but-” ”Woah, woah, stop right there. 'It starts with pizza'?! You realize that sounds pathetic, don't you, Jaybird?”, Roy cut him off as he lay down on his side, still facing his friend. “It's nothing, really. Just keep calm, man.”

Jason ran his fingers through his hair once more. “You don't get it, hm?” “Nah, looks like I don't.”, Roy shrugged and Jason snorted. “This isn't about pizza or Pick up- pools or limousines. I thought... dammit, I thought I'd be immortal in this school. You know, my name still echoing through the hallways after I'm long gone. Jason Todd, the school's legend. But now there is Timbo.”

He leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor. “Roy, this is bad. This is really really bad.”

 

Roy sighed and got up to sit down in front of his friend. He places his hands on Jason's shoulder and gave a comforting smile. “Hey, if it means that much to you we'll work this out. We still got one year left to show him where he belongs. Alright?”

Jason nodded but he still looked unhappy so Roy grabbed his hand and pulled him on his feet. “come on, we'll get some slushy.”, he smiled and once again Jason felt incredibly grateful to have a friend like this.

  
  


Half an hour later Jason and Roy sat in the empty parking lot in front of a 7/11, both a slushy in hand. Jason was a lot calmer now but his brain was still working on how to smoothly get out of the situation he was in.

At first this had been a game to him. It wasn't the first time some kid tried to outrank him after all. But with Tim it was different.

On top of that, Tim's joyful laugh from earlier was still stuck in Jay's head, the way the shorter boy's eyes had been sparkling appeared in front of him whenever he closed his eyes.

 

Jason sighed deeply as he lit his cigarette and replaces the straw of his slushy with it. He took a long drew before blowing the smoke out. It danced around in front of his face before it vanished into the warm air.

Jason was a lot of a stress-related smoker. The only other occasions he smokes were-

 

“ Maybe I should give a party”, Jason thought out loud and Roy turned around to him. “Hm?” “Yeah, you know, as response to Timbo's stupid pizza-party shit. Bruce is out of town this weekend. Business reasons, you know. And Alfred probably doesn't mind that much. Could be fun.”

Roy hummed in agreement and took another sip of his slushy. “Sure, why not! Your parties always rule and your house is the very best. But you have to make sure to invite a fuckton of people, also older guys, like college folks, you know. And you have to find an ultra cool way to invite them.”

 

Jay nodded, thinking about it for a while, abstractedly smoking his cigarette before he pressed it out on the floor. “I'm thinking...”

“ Wow, really! Now that's impressive!”, Roy joked and backed off before Jay could punch his arm.

 

Roy spent the night at Jason's place but they didn't bother to sleep. Instead they made a list of things they needed for the party and planned on how to invite everyone. When the morning came they had dark circles under their eyes but at least they had a plan.

 

Too tired to even get up, they decided to skip the first lesson and actually try to get some rest. Jason wasn't a fan of skipping school but sometimes it was necessary.

However, when they woke up they were late anyways so they could just as well start their preparation for the party. Jason put the list of stuff they needed on the fridge, for Alfred to buy it, while Roy prepared the invitations.

 

The school bell rang for the third lesson to end just as Jason and Roy were done. Now they were standing in the hallway, leaning against Roy's locker, and waited for the students to come out of their classrooms just to find the color-coded sticky notes and fliers the floor and most lockers were covered with.

 

Red for the time.

Green for the place.

And yellow for what was going to happen.

 

Tim had two sticky notes on his locker. A red and a green one. He looked around in confusion, not seeming to find any more information around. But then Steph ran up to him, a bright yellow piece of paper in her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Roy interaction and bonding is good for your heart and soul, I tell you.  
> I love these two dorks.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though he really tried to, Tim is unable to stop himself from investigating Jason's party.   
> A decision that'll have way more consequences than Tim had ever expected.

Tim didn't want to go. He really didn't. But when Friday night came around and the brightly colored notes caught his eyes from his desk he thought he might as well risk a look.

For a moment he thought about calling Steph and ask her if she wanted to come with, she had promised to join him at the next party after all, but he knew that she wasn't the kind of girl to go to a place full of drunken jerks. He didn't plan on staying there for long either so he figured he could just as well go alone.

 

When he stood in front of the manor he wished he hadn't.

He felt more than uninvited and had an incredibly bad feeling about this. Having Steph by his side now would be a blessing. On the other hand, he had lived through way worse without her and he would be able to do this on his own as well.

 

In comparison to this, Kory's party had been as cool as some scouts around a campfire. This was wild!

People were making out in the pool, fully dressed, while some guys played water polo over their heads, a girl in a shiny golden dress was dancing on top of a table and drank champagne right out of the bottle, a group of people bounced on one of the huge beds and had the pillow fight of the century and Tim wouldn't make the mistake to double check but he was rather certain a couple was dry humping on the sofa.

Not a single person, apart from him obviously, was sober.

When Tim had made his way through most of the house he was loaded with confetti and glitter and some dude had put big, red sunglasses on Tim's face. He was more than puzzled about how many stupid things could possibly be done in just one night but he had to admit it. This looked fun.

 

Even though it was even more tempting tonight, he still refused to drink a single drop of alcohol. He was underage, didn't want to disappoint his friend and, most importantly, he had to memorize all of this!

 

His face dropped as he came back to the living room, which honestly reminded more of a battlefield by now, and something wrapped around him from behind. He cried out and reflexively tried to free himself but the arms around his waist proved stronger.

“ look't'is!”, Jason grinned next to Tim's ear. He smelled like whiskey and smoke and Tim kinda missed the feeling of not knowing who was holding him. “My lil Prince. I was hopin ' you'd show up but I wasn' sure!”, he babbled and turned Tim around without loosening his grip on the shorter boy.

 

“ Let go!”, Tim protested and pressed his hands against Jason's chest but he didn't seem to care at all. “Oh c'mon, Timbo! Why ya gotta be so mean all the time? I mean like  _ all the time _ !”,Jason pouted and nuzzled his head against Tim's shoulder.

Tim, for his part, didn't have the faintest idea of how to react on that. “Me?”, he snorted and somehow managed to put his hands on his hips, even though they were nearly completely blocked by Jason's arms. “You were the one to threaten me in the first place!”

“ Yeaaah, but I was  _ jokin' _ !”, Jason complained whiningly. “I wanned to be nicer but then ya showed up at Kory's shtupid party and bitshed aroun'! We could've been friends'n such, you know that?”

 

Tim couldn't help but chuckle. It was beyond funny to hear Jason pour his heart out to him. Still, he was too much of a decent human being to take advantage out of this.

He somehow got a hold on Jason, who was still going on and on about how mean Tim was, and took him upstairs where it was a little more quiet. It didn't take him a long time but indeed some strength to find what he figured to be Jason's room. He was more that glad not to find a half naked couple on the bed and carefully placed Jason on it instead.

 

“ Well, I'm gonna go downstairs and look for Roy or Kory so they can take care of you.”, Tim announced but before he could turn away Jason reached out and grabbed him by his wrist. “No. Stay a lil' longer, please.”, he burred and covered his eyes with his free hand. “Please...”

 

The fact that Jason didn't want him to leave made Tim's heart beat like crazy but he would never admit that and if anyone ever accused him of liking the idea, he would forever deny it. Still, he told himself that it would be irresponsible to leave Jason alone in this state and that he  _ had  _ to stay.

He sat down on the bed next to Jason and sighed. “Fine, I'm staying.”, he agreed and Jason's eyes lightened up a little. He tried to sit up but Tim stopped him by gentle putting a hand on his chest.

 

Suddenly, unexpectedly, Jason grabbed him by his arm and pulled him down. Tim gasped in surprise and found himself face to face with Jason just a second later, so close their noses almost touched. “You're really pretty, you know?”, Jason smiled. It wasn't that cocky grin of his that Tim knew so well by now. This smile was warm and honest.

Tim felt his cheeks heating up and he bit his lip as Jason carefully and a little clumsily tugged a streak of hair behind his hair. Before the younger boy even knew what was going on Jason's lips were on his.

He was unable to move just an inch and his eyes widened for a second before they fell shut. He didn't really return the kiss but he didn't exactly fight back either.

 

For a moment he felt like time was frozen but then Jason broke the kiss. He leaned his forehead against Tim's and smiled gently. Slowly he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but suddenly his face turned pale and before Tim could even sit up straight again Jason was out of the bed and ran into the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all!!!  
> I won't be able to upload for a week since I'm on vacation where I don't have any internet-connection! I'll try to upload one more chapter tomorrow BUT if I don't have time, I'll be back at the April 08. Please bear with me, I am so sorry....!
> 
> Second of all:  
> Finally!! Finally they kissed I waited so long to let them kiss and finally they kissed aaaaaaaa there it is. (I am way too excited about my own story, once again, please bear with me hahah ;;;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the past incidence a few days ago, which Jason tells himself not to remember, Tim has pretty muched moved on. He's too focused on the up-coming baseball match. At the end of the game he his flowting high but Jason - Oh boy, Jason is pissed.

“And then..?”, Jason groaned, covering his eyes with his hands and starting to take fast and short breathes again in order not to throw up once more. “Well, like I said, you were nowhere to be found.”, Roy went on. He was lying on Jason's bed, next to his hungover friend, with his arms crossed behind his head and stared at the ceiling. “And sometime around midnight I got a text from your phone, saying that I should come upstairs. Well, and I found you sitting on the floor of the bathroom, puking like there was no tomorrow, and Tim was stroking your back. He ran off right when I entered the room...”, he chuckled. “He didn't seem used to parties, someone nearly dying on him was too much, I guess.”

Jason wished he was able to roll his eyes at Roy without his head feeling like it was gonna explode. Instead he just snorted. “I didn't  _ nearly die _ . I just got a little wasted, it was not that bad!” “Still you don't remember what happened yesterday night, do you?”

 

Jason winced. Roy took it as a proof that he was right but actually it was the guilt, violently kicking Jason in the stomach. If there was one thing in the world he hated with a burning passion – obviously there was more but if he had to reduce it to one – it was lying to Roy.

Jason did remember. Quite vividly actually.

He remembered how soft Tim's hair was. The remembered the way his lips tasted. He remembered his eyes shining in the dim light.

He remembered every single detail of that night except the most important one. What the hell gave him the idea it would be a good decision to kiss Tim Drake?!

And why, for the love of god, was there this soft voice in the back of his head, telling him to do it again?

 

Tim didn't have time to think about this. Neither had he time to wonder why Jason seemed to avoid him and why Steph wasn't around a lot. He spent basically every free minute with his team, practicing for the great match next Sunday.

When he lay in bed at night his thoughts wandered to the kiss from time to time but usually the second his head touched his pillow, he passed out.

Therefore, when Sunday came around he had nearly forgotten about the previous incidence.

  
  


Tim didn't remember being this focused before. They were in the last inning, two points behind, two players on the bases and he was in the position of the batter. It was on him now.

The pitcher in front of him had a confident grin on his face. He was one head taller than Tim and more than certain he would kick the fragile-looking boy out.

Tim, for his matter, didn't have time to worry about showing off. He knew that it didn't matter if he got the pitcher into believing he was just as full of himself. The only thing that counted for now was scoring.

Tim swung the bat, balanced it out, swung it again. He tapped the home base twice with his left foot, kind of like a ritual to him, before he got in position.

The pitcher made faces, tried to provoke Tim, but the younger boy was busy calculating.

 

In front of his inner eye he wrote formulas and numbers into the air. He knew how hard the pitcher would throw the ball, he had watched him and his so called tactic during the whole game. He knew about the influence of the wind, figured the angle in which the ball would come in and how he would have to hit it.

His head was filled with computations, making up his own strategy, up to the point when the ball left the Pitcher's hand. As soon as it was cutting through the air, making his way towards Tim, his mind was blank. His body moved completely automatic, like a well-constructed machine that was designed for the sole purpose of winning this very match.

 

When the bat hit the ball the world seemed quiet for a moment. Tim had hit it in the absolutely perfect angel and it was swallowed by the bright sunlight.

Tim didn't have time to stare after it in awe, like all the people in the seats did. The ball was gone and so was he.

He ran as fast as his body was physically able, making his way around the field and praying he wouldn't trip, while he watched as the first player got back to the home base. Safe. Then the second player reached it as well. Tie.

In the corner of his eye Tim could see a player of the opposite team picking up the ball but he was already at the third base. It was too late to stop now. And he didn't have to.

Before anyone could bring the ball even remotely close to him his foot hit the home base. He was safe. He had won. The match was over and his team had won.

_ Oh Fuck _ .

Tim fell down on his knees, breathing heavily, not because of exhaustion but because of the adrenaline that was rushing through his veins. He didn't have to stay on the ground for all too long though. His friends picked him up, lifting him into the air.

 

Tim felt weightless. He was unable to get the grin off his face as his team was throwing him into the air over and over again and cheered his names.

 

When he finally got back on his feet he stumbled over to Steph, fell into her arms and laughed but she wouldn't leave him time to calm down a little. She made him stand up straight again and smiled. “There are some people who want to celebrate with you!”, she smiled and gently pushed him back into the field. Two cheerleaders got a hold on each of his arms while the rest of the team started dancing around him.

Tim looked around in confusion, unable to proceed what he was seeing. Some of the guys from his team joined the dance while others went to motivate the other students to come to the field and join as well.

 

“What is this?”, Tim asked confusedly and the cheerleader on his left smiled brightly. “It's called a Flashmob, silly!”, she replied and Tim couldn't help but chuckle, knowing only one person who was crazy enough to organize a Flashmob just for him.

  
  


“You're insane!”, Tim laughed as soon as he was allowed to leave the baseball field. “You're downright crazy, Stephanie Brown!”

“Oh, c'mon, Timmy, don't tell me you didn't like it!”, Steph protested as she pulled her best friend into a tight hug. “Congratulations, Tim! That hit was amazing..! I am really proud of you.”, she smiled gently and kissed his cheek. He blushed and rubbed his neck, nervously chuckling. “That you... but you know,  _ I _ didn't win, the team did. It wasn't only on me... However don't you think you should explain yourself?!”, he quickly got back to the topic.

 

While she handed him a towel and a cold bottle of water Steph started telling Tim about her past week. While he hadn't done anything else than eating, sleeping and training for this match, she thought they couldn't just leave the fight with Jason like that. They couldn't let him be one week of planning ahead of them.

Tim doubted that Jason spent that much time on planning his actions, he seemed more like a 'going after a quick idea' kind of guy, but he didn't interrupt Steph for this.

She went on about how the idea of a Flashmob had crossed her mind. Luckily the head Cheerleader still owed her a favor for letting her copy some answers in a math-test. Things took their turn and now here he was.

 

“You're insane!”, Tim repeated himself and ran his finger through his hair. “Steph, I love you. This is … awesome! I can't believe you-!” “I know, I know”, Steph interrupted him with a wide grin. “I am the best you'll ever have!”

  
  


Obviously Jason had attended the match as well. He wouldn't leave his school hanging just because he didn't like one of the players.

Now he wished he would've just stayed home. Tim and his people couldn't be serious. Like, really? A Flashmob?!

When Jason had scored the final touchdown in the summer two years ago his team had picked him up as well but for fuck sake there hadn't been cheerleaders dancing for him.

 

“The next thing will end it all, Roy!”, he growled. “I will end this now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( I am not an American person and I have never seen a baseball match in my life! I am so sorry, if everything I wrote is nonsense, I really tried my best and googled in the speed of light, I swear!))
> 
> It looks like the universe is on my side today, because luckily I did have time to upload another Chapter! And a pretty long one as well. Yeah!  
> However, we are nearly at the end of the story here, there are only three more chapters to come! But, don't worry, my dear fellows, I've been thinking about adding a prequel-chapter about Jason's time before he left the school for one year or maybe a spin-off or some Bonus-chapters. Well, if you want haha... ;;;  
> Just tell me, please :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are going good for Tim and the wonderful weather adds to his good mood.   
> But when he suddenly finds himself in trouble and get unexpected help his world gets a little shook up again...

The next day was impossibly hot. Because of this and probably also because the teachers were just as happy about yesterday's game the last two lessons were canceled.

Steph didn't have time to hand out today, she had to babysit the neighbor's girls once in awhile, but Tim still didn't feel like going home yet. No one was waiting for him anyway, so he decided to go to the city by himself.

 

He rode his bike through the streets and joyfully sang a song that was stuck in his head. Sometimes, when it was summer, it was easy to forget how cruel and cold Gotham actually was.

Tim was mercilessly reminded of that fact when something hit the back wheel of his bike and he fell over with a helpless scream. He picked himself up and reached for his bike but someone stepped on his hand.

Tim hissed in pain and looked up at the man who was leaning over him. “Hey, pretty boy”, he grinned widely and revealed some disgustingly yellow teeth. One was replaced by a construct that was probably supposed to be made out of gold but it really looked at little too tarnished for that. “Leave me alone..!”, Tim said as confident as he possible could and somehow managed to free his hand from under the man's boot.

He was still more than a head shorter than his attacker but at least he wasn't lying on the ground anymore. “That's some nice stuff you're wearing there, kid. I bet you've got way more money than someone your age can spent. Mind to share?” The man smirked and reached for Tim's write. The boy backed off and shook his head. “I don't think so.”, he replied and immediately regretted it since the man in front of him didn't seem happy with this answer. “That's not for you to decide, Kid!”, he growled and stroke out to punch Tim right in the face but his hand was stopped before it could reach the boy.

 

“You better apologize to the young man, hand him back his bike and then get out of my sight, you hear me?”

Jason's voice was cool and collected and Tim was more than surprised to find the man whose only purpose in life seemed to be fucking with Tim, was now helping him.

The man who had kicked Tim off his bike didn't move an inch. “Fuck off!”, he snapped at Jason and pushed him away but Jason didn't look too impressed. “Hey, Jackass, we can go the hard or the easy way. Your choice..!”

 

Tim quickly picked up his back and his bike before reaching for Jason's hand. “L-Let's just leave. I'm okay, we can just-” “I didn't hear you apologizing.”, Jason growled at the thug and completely ignored Tim who was dragging on his sleeve. “What are you gonna do, huh?”, the man with the 'golden' tooth smirked at suddenly his fist was shooting forwards, aiming at Jason's face.

Tim screamed in alarm but Jason ducked away in no time and hit the man right in the stomach. He gasped and stumbled back but Jason as already aiming his next punch at the man's jaw. He fell against the wall and blood was dripping from his lip. “One last chance. Apology. Now.”, Jason hissed, lifting his fist once again. “Calm down, calm down, I'm sorry!”, the man yelled angrily before running off through a side street.

 

Tim was unable to do anything but stare. Jason had just beat up a criminal, had protected him and picked a goddamn fight! Tim couldn't tell if the shivers that were constantly running down his spin were created by the shock or because he was unexpectedly turned on.

No one had ever fought for him and Tim had never expected it to feel this good. It was terrifying and stupid and barbaric but so hot.

 

Tim felt a blush creep on his cheeks as Jason turned around to him. “T-Thank you...”, he said slowing, looking anywhere but in Jason's eyes. The taller guy just shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. “Never mind.”, he grinned before walking away.

Tim winced. He couldn't believe Jason was leaving just like that. “Hey! W-Wait!”, he ran after Jason, dragging his bike along with him. “Why did you even help me? I thought you hated me!”

Jason turned to Tim and snorted. Suddenly the memory of when they had kissed flashed in front of his eye. “I don't particularly like you but that doesn't mean I want you to die.”, he chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair. “spoiled little rich kids like you have trouble surviving in the streets of Gotham, I had nothing left but to help you...!”

 

Tim laughed out as he walked next to Jason. “Spoiled rich kid? You're father is Bruce Wayne! You're family is beyond rich!” Jason shook his head. “Bruce is my  _ adoptive _ father. Before he took me under his wing I've learned quite a lot of stuff in those alleys.”

“Oh...”, Tim said quietly and, since he didn't dare to ask any further questions, he decided to walk by Jason's side in silence.

 

“However, thank you...”, Tim sighed again after a while. “Yeah, you already said that? Why are you following me anyway? Weren't you going somewhere?” “Weren't you?”, Tim replied and Jason shrugged “Nah, Just straying around...”

“Well, then would you like to erm... hang around together?”

Jason stopped for a beat and looked at Tim. “Really?”, he chuckled, a tiny smirk on his lips. “Y-Yeah, you know, I could treat you for ice cream. As a thank-you, you know?”

Jason grinned, some stupid remark at the tip of his tongue but suddenly – he didn't know what had happened – he didn't feel like being mean right now.

“Yeah, why not.”, he shrugged and Tim's eyes started shining like the brightest stars.

 

Minutes later they sat on a park bench, both a restlessly filled ice cream cone in hand, and watched the sparkling water pouring out of the fountain in front of them.

“This is nice... I-I mean, nicer than I expected!”, Tim chuckled and leaned back to look at Jason. The sun was doing it's best to make the late summer last as long as possible and the heat was unbearable. Jason had put some red shades on and Tim, even though he'd never admit it, melted a little at the sight of this.

“Yeah..!”, Jason agreed and licked his ice cream “You can be okay when you're not trying to ruin my day, I guess!”

Tim chuckled quietly. “Hey, don't forget that you started this..!”, his jokingly complained but Jason shook his head.

“Nah, I was trying to make up on Kory's party.” “Well-”, Tim grinned “-,then it's on me to tell you, that you're extraordinarily bad at making up.”

Jason grinned and looked at Tim over the edge of his sunglasses. “But I'm extraordinarily  _ good _ at making  _ out _ .”

 

He immediately regretted saying it because he knew Tim remembered the kiss and he remembered the kiss and now it was kinda awkward and neither of them dared to say a word. For a few beats Jason felt lost in the situation, uncomfortably ran his fingers through his hair, until he decided to just go over it and save the day.

He got up and threw away the already empty cone before he took of the sunglasses. “Up for some fun, Timbo?”

 

Before Tim could answer or even react Jason was gone. He had took of his shirt, threw it at Tim's face and now he was sitting in the fountain, letting the wonderfully cold water run over his head. “C'mon, Timbo! Get in here!”, he laughed and brushed his now wet hair out of his face.

Tim was struggling for a minute but it didn't took him long to decide that he wouldn't let this chance pass. He quickly got out of his shoes and put his backpack next to the fountain before he joined Jason.

 

He wasn't even half in as Jason began to splash the clear water into Tim's face. He winced and screamed out before he started laughing, quickly wiping the drops off his eyes.

“What's this with you and your water-party stuff?”, Tim chuckled before splashing Jason in return.

The boy just grinned in reply and pulled Tim down so he was now sitting on his butt, chest deep under water.

“I like it wet!”, he winked and started to jokingly wrestle Tim. Even though Jason wasn't serious, Tim had quite some problems to fight back. Hell, this boy was strong!

 

They rolled around in the water, splashed and tickled each other and laughed like maniacs and it was probably the most fulfilling moment Tim had ever experienced.

The carefree playing was abruptly interrupted because suddenly Tim and Jason were face to face, closer than intended, their noses leaning against each other and Jason's lips hovering over Tim's.

He could feel his hot breath on his skin and once again Jason was sending shivers down his spine. He wouldn't admit it, but when Jason pulled away and cleared his throat he was feeling something a lot like disappointment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more or less of a filler chapter but I thought the two of them really really needed more quality time together...
> 
> Also, I am back home and we are only two chapters away form the end of our story! AH!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter what had happend between Tim and Jason earlier, it was too late for the 'King' to stop now. His final prank would go down in history. IT would end the fight with Tim and forever make him the #1.  
> ...But is that really still what he wants?

When Jason got home his clothes were still wet and the expression on Tim's face expression from when they had been so close just didn't want to leave his mind.

He was confused and restless and he could punch himself in the face for not kissing Tim then and there. Of course, if anyone ever happened to learn about this afternoon he would restlessly deny it. Still, he had no admit, no matter how much he hated himself for this, he was longing for another kiss. Just one more and he would be able to leave it behind him, so he thought.

 

The second he arrived at home Roy and Kory were on him. “This dude from the children paradise indoor playground replied. He'll help us out!”, Roy said excitedly. “I still don't know why you know so many people – I mean,  _ so many _ – but I really like the idea”, Kory smiled. It hadn't took Jason and Roy much to talk Kory into their plan. Even though she could be a little hard to understand from time to time, she was someone you could steal horses with.

 

Jason for his matter wasn't so sure of their plan anymore. Their final plan, the one that would end the whole deal with Tim.

But was he really willing to do this to the boy? After this action he would be the undoubted number one in their High School and it would probably crush Tim. The thing they were planning would go down in the school's history forever.

But somehow Jason wasn't sure if he really wanted to continue this silly fight. Especially not after he had newly accepted that he definitely had feelings of some kind for the boy.

However, it was too late to back off now.

 

“Great! When will he be ready?”, he grinned and Roy shrugged “He said he could do it tonight. The indoor playground is closed for a week due to some repairs that need to be done. Quite some timing you have, Jaybird!”, he replied, grinning widely.

“Tonight, hn?”, Jason asked, nodding slowly. “Great, let's do it tonight then.”

 

_ Tonight _ came around faster than expected. Roy and Kory had stayed at Jason's place until they had to get going.

There were still surprisingly many people outside for three a.m. but the closer they got to the High School, the fewer people crossed there way. By the time they had reached the parking lot they hadn't met another living being for quite some time.

For now, being as alone as possible was a good thing because the thing they were planning to do demanded some privacy.

 

Roy's friend who they had asked for his help arrived about ten minutes after them. He drove the truck onto the fortunately completely empty parking lot and stopped it as close to the main hall's windows as possible.

Then he got out of the driver's cab and ran over to the three high schoolers.

 

After a little while of greeting and thanking for the help they could get started.

Armed with huge plastic bags and a lot of determination they started to get the tons of colorful plastic balls, you'd usually find in children's ball pools, out of the truck, through the windows and loaded them into the main hall.

Jason didn't question when and where and to what occasion Kory had learned how snap window locks but it came in handy now.

 

Preparing their final, glorious prank was more fun than any of them had expected it to be. They laughed and fooled around, eventually they turned on some music, quite enough so they wouldn't alarm anyone but loud enough for them to sing along.

 

When they were done and Roy's buddy got back into the truck with a short remark that he needed the balls back until Friday, it was a quarter past seven. It was too late to get back home. So instead they waited, sitting in the back of Roy's Pick-Up and talked while they watched the other students arriving.

When it was time for them to get in, Kory waved good-bye and left the two boys alone but not without ordering them to tell her in detail about what would happen next.

 

It didn't take long for someone to notice what has happened to the main hall and it took even less time for all the students to gather there.

They were standing in waist high plastic balls and within two minutes everybody was screaming in joy, threw the balls at their friends, dived and partied. No one was wasting a thought at the lessons that were about to start.

 

Someone seemed to had sneaked into the principal's office because by now there was loud music coming from the speakers.

 

Jason was sitting on the windowsill and watched the students having their time. The mission had worked out better than he expected it to.

He was right, this would go down in history.

 

People would still talk about this after he was long gone. This school and it's students would never forget about him. This would be in the yearbook and this would be a story his schoolmate would tell their children one day. This would make any teacher cautious about anyone who was even remotely similar to Jason.

 

This was it. The top of the world and Jason was right where he needed to be. He had reached everything he had ever asked for, had his friends by his side and his memorial was now immortal.

Everything was beyond perfect.

 

But then he spotted Tim, standing in the middle of the scene and Jason couldn't remember if he had ever seen someone who looked that broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second to last chapter and things are growing intense! I'm going to miss this story when it's over, oh boy...


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Tim finally put an end to their fighting but instead they start something new.

Making his way towards Jason was probably the hardest thing Tim ever had to do in all his life. He couldn't make a single step forward without someone bumping into him or stopping him, holding him back at his shoulders and yelling something rude.

“Looks like you're thrown off of your throne, huh?” and “That's what happens when you pick a fight with king Jason!” or “You really thought you could handle something like this, pretty boy?”

 

Tim knew that everybody was aware of their little competition but he seemed to have missed the points when everyone chose the other side over his.

He had thought, it seemed stupid now but he had really thought there had been something between Jason and him.

But now he was doing this to him. Why? He was gone in a year but Tim wouldn't get rid of this. From now on he would forever be the guy who couldn't keep up with the school's king but was too stubborn to admit it.

 

When he spotted Jason and their eyes met he already felt dead inside. A part of him, somewhere deep in the back of his mind told him that it wasn't as bad, that people wouldn't talk about it for long and that Jason was just an asshole who had tried to hurt him all along.

But Tim was unable to listen to this tiny voice of logic.

The grin on Jason face felt like an ice-cold blade piercing through his heart.

He turned around and ran off before he could see how it vanished at was replaced by a worried frown.

 

Tim was already back in the hallway when Jason finally reached him. He tried to hold the smaller boy back, reached out for his shoulder but before he had even touched him, Tim turned around. His eyes were watery but he wasn't crying yet.

“What?!”, he hissed and glanced at Jason. The taller male slowly lowered his hand. “T-Timbo...”, he started, feeling miserable for being the cause of that expression in the boy's eyes. He was already missing the spark he had seen in them during their food fight or yesterday afternoon.

“What do you want?!”, Tim asked again, his voice a little weaker now, and turned away because he wasn't sure if he could hold back the tears for much longer.

“I-I'm sorry, Tim. I – fuck – I didn't mean to make you cry!”, Jason said, helplessly reaching for Tim but the shorter boy backed off.

“Of course not! You didn't mean to be this rude back then in the cafeteria and you didn't mean to hurt me now and obviously you wasn't planning to play with my heart, make me think you kind of like me and kiss me just to make his hurt even more. I'm sure this was  _ never _ your intention!” Tim had lost the fight against his tears and he didn't care anymore. They were pouring down his face and dripped down his chin but Tim didn't bother to wipe them off.

While his own voice rose, Jason became more and more quiet.

 

He knew he had fucked up. He knew he had been an asshole and there was literally no reason at all for Tim to forgive him. Still he felt like he at least had to try defending himself.

“It's not like that, Tim, really. Please listen...!” But Tim didn't want to listen. He knew if he'd listen to Jason now he would just fall for him again, wanting to believe that whatever had happened between the two of them was real.

“No, it's okay, Jason. I'll leave. You’ve won. I'll leave your kingdom for good. Just please, leave me alone...”

 

Tim was turning away again, wanting nothing more but to run and never come back but Jason wouldn’t let him get away like that.

He grabbed Tim's wrist and pulled him back but before the boy even that the chance to protest Jason's lips were on his.

 

Tim ripped his eyes open, tried to push Jason off him but he didn't feel strong enough to keep pretending he didn't want this. He knew it would do him no good but he also knew he couldn't keep on telling himself there was anything he wanted more than Jason's mouth on his.

 

The tears kept on rolling down his cheeks but Jason carefully wiped them away as he put his hands on them. This kiss was different from the one back at the party. It wasn't rushed and sloppy. This one was sweet and tender and shy and  _ serious _ .

If he couldn't make Tim believe he wasn't just playing with him by what he said, Jason would make him feel it.

 

As they finally broke the kiss Tim had no idea what to say or think or do anymore so he just helplessly stared up to Jason.

The taller boy rubbed his neck and sighed before leaning his forehead against Tim's.

“You... You don't have to go, you know? I mean... It's nice to know I can leave my kingdom to someone like you when I leave. And erm... I-I think it would be good to have someone by my side to... rule with me.”

Tim sniffled but couldn't keep the tiny grin off his face. “Drop the silly monarchy-metaphor already and tell me what you mean.”

 

Jason sighed and took a deep breath. This was harder than pulling of the overconfident asshole. “I... I like you, Timbo. And I would be honored if you'd go out with me. This rivalry was stupid in the first place. I-I think we're great alone but we could be better together... So will you-”

He was interrupted by Tim's mouth on his and instantly wrapped his arms around the shorter boy's waist. Tim's fingers were in his hair and he slowly nodded without breaking the kiss.

Jason's heart was racing and he grinned against Tim's lips. “So, you're my boyfriend now?”, he whispered and teasingly licked Tim's bottom lip.

“Mmm, you certainly have a chance. I'll decide after the date”, Tim replied with a wink and kissed Jason once more time.

 

_____________

  
  


“There you are! I am glad you came!”, Tim shouted over the loud music as he spotted Steph stepping into the giant house. “I'm  _ so _ glad you actually came!” He smiled and pulled her into a tight hug.

“I told you, I'd do this for you. And only for you, Timmy...”, she sighed and looked around. Drunken people still weren't her cup of tea but she had promised Tim to show up tonight.

 

Tim could tell by the change in Steph's face that Jason was behind him and only a beat later he felt his boyfriend's arm on his shoulders. “Hey!”, he said, trying really hard to sound as excited as Tim but failing miserably. “Yo.”, Steph replied, doing an even worse job.

Tim knew that it would take his friend some more time to get along with Jason. Even though he had apologized for what he had said to her and about Tim and Steph had technically accepted his apology, she still seemed resentful about it.

Still, the two of them really tried to be nice to each other and that was more than Tim could ask for. They would get used to each other eventually, he was sure of this.

 

“I'll show you around, okay?”, he smiled and took her hand before stealing a kiss from Jason and leading Steph down the hallways.

They were making their way through the house and – while Tim had seen at least one party at Wayne Manor before and knew what to expect – Steph was mind-blown about how many stupid things could be done at once. Still, even though she wasn't exactly a party-girl, she had to admit that it was fun.

 

“You won't make be go to events like this every weekend now, will you?”, she laughed nervously and Tim quickly shook his head.

“Nonononono! Don't worry, no! Next Saturday we'll stay at my place and watch cartoons again! I mean, if you want.”, he laughed and grinned at her.

She nodded and smiled happily. “Hey, Timmy?”

“Yeah?”, he tilted his head at the sudden change in her tone.

“I am glad you're happy.”

 

Tim felt a blush creep on his cheeks and bit his lips to hide his loving smile. Oh, he was happy. He was happier than he had ever been before. Turned out he didn't need the whole school to like him as long as people who did like him were the right ones. And to be honest, he had never felt more blessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my! Oh my! I can't believe this is over!   
> Thank you a billion times for staying with me so long! I can't believe that this story is actually done now. I've worked on this for quite some time and I feel like I am giving a part of me away but I am super happy at the same time!   
> I hope you had fun with this and I hope I might have made your hearts race at some points because mine certainly is now! 
> 
> I Love you guys haha !

**Author's Note:**

> I am still a bloody beginner at writing fanfictions and this is my first AU ever. I've never been to an American High School myself (Simply because I don't live in America and our education system is a little different) and I tried to base this fic on what I know from my time in school and what I learned about American High Schools from books and movies.  
> If you spot anthing concerning the school system that seems off to you, please feel free to tell me.


End file.
